The 2023 season of the UnschoolingFuture Podcast was devoted to children on the internet, their digital rights and access to information.
It's because I’m writing and illustrating FREE TO BROWSE, a comics journalism project in progress about coming of age online.
It delves into the stories of vulnerable teens, including my transgender son, for whom the internet has served as a crucial lifeline.
Expected in 2025!
Free to Browse with Peter Gray
What are the actual reasons why children and teens are so stressed out? By controlling their online lives, are we taking the last vestige of freedom that children and teens had? What is the tipping point theory of social change and when can we expect a wider acceptance of children’s ability to self-direct their learning and possibly less discrimination of youngsters as a minority?
For this episode, I had the honor to sit down with my long time hero Peter Gray, research professor at Boston College, famous for his studies of children’s play and self-directed learning. Professor Gray is also the author of Psychology, an introductory textbook that has survived many editions, and of the hugely popular book Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life.
Sleep, Love and Unschooling
Does our society have a chronotype bias and how can the discriminated chronotype stand up for themselves? Is there a relationship between sleep and body weight? How can dreams help in problem solving and emotional regulation? What is the after puberty sleep phase shift? Why do some people have longer circadian rhythms? Do you co-sleep with your children? How can unschooling lifestyle help discover your biological clock and build a healthy relationship with sleep? What does an unschooling day look like?
Play vs. Work
What are the societal implications of the loss of play? Can the current technological renaissance, including web3, help bring play back to our lives?
Will We Take Our Labels to the Metaverse?
Labels, of all shapes and sizes. What do labels do to us? Will labels transfer to the metaverse or can we be anything?
A Year of Wonders
Hundreds of millions of school students and millions of college students have become homeschoolers as their countries struggle to flatten the curve, or slow down the spread of the new corona virus. Newspapers are filled with quotes by parents who seem more horrified by this sudden disruption in their routine than the pandemic itself. If you are such a parent (or such a college student, many of whom sound equally perplexed by the prospect of studying from home), let me tell you a secret.